To ride, or not to ride?
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Speaking of carbon emissions, here is an issue on the PEPY table at the moment.... should PEPY ONLY offer bike tours? This is something I have been challenged with and have to decide "Protect the Earth" or reach more people? Does reaching more people do more to protect the earth, promote Cambodia, and instill a spirit of volunteerism which will give more back to society in the long run counterbalance the airconditioned tour bus? Does resorting to 100% public transport, which is often unreliable in Cambodia, make more sense, or are we then back to loosing a large scope of our potential clients?
These are all thoughts I am working through right now, but as it stands, here is where I am. I think PEPY should offer a variety of tours, cycling and non-cycling, high school through seniors, budget through high end. Yes, high end non-cycling tours will be higher carbon contributors and will not resemble an "eco-tour" at all, but my thoughts are that we can do more good overall by offering these tours than turning them away.
Cambodia is becoming a HUGE tourist destination, with new buildings popping up daily in Siem Reap (the jumping point for viewing Angkor Wat) and I believe a lot of the people finding PEPY would be coming to Cambodia with our without us. They would be staying in either high end or budget places, flying or taking local transport, and they are looking at PEPY as an alternative to their normal travel plans, but not as an alternative to say the Peace Corps. If PEPY can meet all of these people in their respective places, help them travel a bit more green, but mostly work to educate and open their eyes to other alternatives and perspectives on their PEPY Tour, perhaps they will travel, live, act differently in the future. They can walk through the struggles with "Responsible Giving" with us, discuss the importance of following up on their investments in NGOs, and meet others who can talk to the impact of tourism on the environment and culture.
My concern is that if we only offer cycling tours, we will be preaching to the choir. Our scope will be limited, and many people who will still come to Cambodia will not have the chance to visit PEPY partners and rural communities to learn more about this country than the big buildings lining the streets of Siem Reap.
Just some thoughts....
Daniela Papi
2 Comments:
I think this a pretty tough call; certainly the kinds of people who are going to be attracted to a pepy cycling tour are most likely already going to be concerned, and aware of the potential problems of tourism, sustainability and the areas pepy seeks to address.
But I also think they probably aren't aware of specifics. They choose to do something like a Pepy tour to learn, as much as to nod at their own conclusions.
On the recent pepy trip I took part in it seemed as though a lot of the ideas and problems presented to us were new to the group, and if not new they certainly hadn't been presented to us in that way before. So many people -like myself- are concerned and yet feel helpless in the enormity of the problems facing countries like Cambodia. Pepy is the kind of organisation that can take concerned people, educate them, and show them how they can make a real difference.
You might be preaching to the choir, but the choir is still coming to church, because they haven't learned everything yet.
Hi Daniela,
A great post as always - I follow a lot of blogs and few of them are as interesting, or as insightful.
I belive that branching out from just cycle tours into other forms of tourism options for the travellers is the direction that makes most sense - I understand the need for a strong focus on the core objectives of the project, but at the same time feel that the project has been so succesful that its growth, perhaps in ways not intentioanally intented, could be very impactful in a positive way.
By the careful use of carbon offsets, proper salary concerns, care for the environment and destinations visited, and strong incorporation of service, volunteerism and sustainability within PEPY's tours (bike, or non-bike), I belive PEPY could easily maintain its focus on its core objectives, but still branch out into a growing market. As to if "PEPY" the non-profit is the best avenue to pursue this, or if it should be via a seperate for-profit arm, those are good questions to ask - as where capital could be sourced etc play into the equation.
Last but not least, please keep posting and I look forward to carefully following your progress as PEPY changes the landscape of adventure travel !
Anand
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